Anyone tried a tiny amount of T3

I know a few of us have tried thyroxine and possilby armour thyroid but has anyone tried a tiny amount of T3? I know it is a steroid so I imagine it could give us a big boost in energy.
I was wondering if it was worth trying. Just a really tiny amount (say 2.5mg).
Anyone given it a go?

CYTOMEL® (liothyronine sodium), also known as T3, is a peptide hormone, not a steroid hormone.

When I was treated for mild hypothyroidism (due to taking lithium) I didn't have any luck with T4 in reducing my symptoms, but felt better when using T3. However, I did not feel a boost in energy. It just got me out of the horrible drain of hypothyroidism. It just returned me to my pre-hypothyroid days, which still sucked bigtime. No increase in T3 ever gave me more energy. The only thing that happened when I tried to increase the T3 dose was a pounding heartbeat.

I didn't have a pounding heartbeat prior to starting T3 therapy. It never went away even after I stopped taking T3. It could just be a coincidence that this happened.

T3 will get you out of hypothyroidism, but it is unlikely to increase your energy levels unless you are hypothyroid.

I took lithium for a short time (six weeks) and I think that is what started all this for me. I remember being incredibly shaky and cold (even in a boiling hot bath I was trembling ).

This is all interesting stuff. Thank you.

Just out of interest, what are you on now and did the T3 significantly reduce your antibodies/TSH etc? CAn the body (thyroid) recover after lithium without intervention? Do you STILL have a pounding heart?

Just out of interest, what are you on now and did the T3 significantly reduce your antibodies/TSH etc? CAn the body (thyroid) recover after lithium without intervention? Do you STILL have a pounding heart?

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I don't have to take any thyroid medication now because I recovered from the hypothyroidism. This was the only time in my life I've ever been hypothyroid. I don't recall the exact date T3 was prescribed, but I had to fight to get it. It could have been started April or May 2012.

I felt very cold when I became hypothyroid. The only thing that felt good was a warm bed, with the electric mattress pad turned on. I thought the fatigue from ME/CFS was bad. This was worse. It was brick wall worse. I was getting up at 3 p.m. instead the usual 10 a.m. I felt disoriented when getting up at 10 a.m; it felt like I was getting up at 4 a.m.

Here's part of a note I wrote to my doctor June 6, 2012:
"I asked for two things that are now helping: Cytomel (T3) and a ferritin check. And now I'm doing better. I can't say for sure, but it seems that taking the iron supplement has reduced my need for some of the T3 I was taking. Prior to that, the T3 did its job very well by keeping me alert."

Btw, I took Floradix iron supplement, not the god-awful iron pills I've heard so much about.

As far as you trying T3 on your own without a doctor's order or without an elevated TSH, it's hard to say if you will see much benefit. Have you had your TSH and/or free T4 level checked recently? If your TSH is elevated you might stand a chance of benefiting from thyroid replacement therapy. When I was taking T3 it got me back to my usual pre-hypothyroid level of functioning, but taking more T3 after I'd reached that point didn't give me more energy.

I don't know if the body can recover from lithium without intervention. I think the best way to find more about that would be to google "lithium induced hypothyroidism." There are many published articles and discussions.

I was wondering if it was worth trying. Just a really tiny amount (say 2.5mg).
Anyone given it a go?

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I have taken T3 at doses of 10 mcg daily for a few weeks, sometimes 20 mcg on the odd day. I can't say that I noticed much, but I think if there were some ME/CFS patients that did have mild sub-clinical hypothyroidism, then T3 supplementation might improve their energy levels and brain fog.

Body builders sometimes take up to 60 mcg of T3 daily for a several weeks in order to increase metabolism and burn off body fat. So I am guessing that dosing at 10 mcg daily would probably be fairly safe.

I found notes I'd made about my treatment in 2012. On 4/30/12 I started on 5mcg T3 3x/day. By 6/6/12 I had reduced it to 2.5mcg/day. 7/6/12 is when I first noticed the pounding heart about 3 hours after my evening dose of T3, which at first persisted for a few hours at a time.

Rose5: I was diagnosed with Hashimoto thyroiditis by an endocrine physician. I am on Armour® Thyroid 90 mg by a wellness doctor. The endocrine physician who diagnosed me felt I should not be on any medication, but was OK with low-dose Armour® Thyroid 30! Now he is worried about atrial fibrillation. My blood work has been monitored. Does Armour® Thyroid cause atrial fibrillation over the long term? What other recommendations do you have for this diagnosis?

Suman_Jana,_MD: Atrial fibrillation is from too much thyroid hormone (T4 and T3) leading to low TSH. So, if your TSH is not low, the risk of atrial fibrillation is not high. Compared to T4, T3 has a high potency to suppress TSH. In Armour® Thyroid, there is a relatively higher percentage of T3 than we really need. Armour® Thyroid is made from thyroid gland extract from pig and cow. Now, animals need more T3 than humans. T3 helps them with more thermogenesis (body heat production). Since animals don’t wear clothes, they need to preserve body heat by generating more heat production.

Jack_in_Florida:Does overcompensating on thyroid medication contribute to potential atrial fibrillation episodes? Can you comment also on target levels for T3 uptake, T3, free T3, TSH, T4 and free T4 for those on thyroid replacement therapy? (I have no thyroid gland.)

Suman_Jana,_MD: Atrial fibrillation is from too much of thyroid hormone (T4 and T3) leading to low TSH. So, if your TSH is not low, the risk of atrial fibrillation is not high. Compared to T4, T3 has a high potency to suppress TSH. TSH levels should be above the lower limit of normal.

Thank you very much for this information. I am very interested and happy that you no longer need thyroid medication. It appears that you recovered from lithium induced hypothyroidism which is fantastic.
May I ask how long you were/are on lithium for?
I will research more about lithum induded thyroid conditions. I havent because I've been alittle scared.

Thank you very much for this information. I am very interested and happy that you no longer need thyroid medication. It appears that you recovered from lithium induced hypothyroidism which is fantastic.
May I ask how long you were/are on lithium for?
I will research more about lithum induded thyroid conditions. I havent because I've been alittle scared.

Thanks again.

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I had been on lithium for six months when I became hypothyroid. What triggered the hypothyroidism was an increase in my lithium dose. Since that one time when I became hypothyroid my energy levels never returned to what they had been before that time. I've not taken lithium since then either. I told my doctor I would only take lithium if I was dying and there was no alternative. There are several alternatives to lithium that don't have any of the risk of causing hypothyroidism.

Yes I do get my thyroid hormone levels checked once a year now. The only time my TSH went up was on 8/28/14 when it was 4.25 after I'd been supplementing with iodine. My endocrinologist had warned me to NOT take iodine supplements, and like an idiot, I took some iodine supplements and it raised my TSH. Endocrinologists, what do they know

I will look at reducing my iodine rich foods (not sure I eat mcuh iodine as I cannot tolerate fish...perhaps becasue of the iodine!)

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You don't need to reduce your iodine-rich foods. Just don't take any supplements like kelp, which supply way more than is recommended. In fact, on the kelp supplement bottle it had some warnings about how it might affect the thyroid.

If you're interested in optimizing thyroid function I think it would be a good start to first get tested (TSH, free T4, ferritin). If your TSH is elevated and/or you have a low ferritin, those are some things that are easily remedied with thyroid hormone replacement or iron. Those two things are what helped me the most.